So for those of us that either don’t live in the USA, want a vegan version or just don’t like Lime Crime’s morals I’ve got you a dupe for their much praised Velvetines.

So it’s Sleek MakeUP’s Matte Me that is the dupe. They’re brand new on the market and as of yet haven’t hit stores. They are due to hit stores soon but as of yet Sleek is not giving up a date. They are however available on their website.

Sleek describes Matte Me as a matte finish liquid lipstick that glides on in one smooth application, with no need for a second coat.

Lime Crime describes Velvetines as liquid lipstick that goes on like a gloss and dries to a matte, touch-proof finish.

Here’s a direct comparison of the bottles, colours and the applicators

Red Velvet & Rioja Red

Suedeberry & Party Pink

The main differences are the price, quantity and the product itself.

Velvetines

Costs £11.50

0.11 oz of product

Liquid formulation

Matte Me

Costs £4.99

6 ml of product

Cream formulation

To covert that google tells me 0.11 liquid oz is 3.12 ml. So if that’s correct, there’s a whole lot more in the Matte Me.

They’re both long stay lipsticks and both tend to last as long as each other. The down side is they’re both very drying on the lips but you do get that with all long stay lip colours. The cream formulation is slightly more forgiving than the liquid version on dry lips but not by much at all. Matte Me also doesn’t tend to smudge in the same way as Velvetines do.

Velvetines contains petrolatum. Petrolatum is not a vegan ingredient. So despite claims on the packaging it’s not a vegan cosmetic.

Now for the colours. Velvetine’s currently only come in two colours Red Velvet and Suedeberry. Matte Me come in a range of six. There is an exact match for Suedeberry and a nice match for Red Velvet in this range.

So if you’ve been dying to try Velvetines but couldn’t stand buying from Lime Crime or just couldn’t afford it. Here’s a nice alternative.

PS – Matte Me comes in a bright pink too, so there might already be a dupe for her new pink velvet.